Could the protagonist have been female without significantly impacting the film as a whole? (for a film with a male protagonist) [why this matters]

FEMALE AGENCY/POWER/AUTHORITY SCORE:0

[no significant representation of women in authority]

THE MALE GAZE SCORE:0

[no issues]

GENDER/SEXUALITY SCORE:-5

-5

Is there a female character who is primarily defined by her emotional and/or sexual relationship with a man or men? [why this matters]

WILDCARD SCORE:0

Is there anything either positive or negative in the film’s representation of women not already accounted for here? (points will vary)

No.

TOTAL SCORE:-15

IS THE FILM’S DIRECTOR FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)

IS THE FILM’S SCREENWRITER FEMALE? No (does not impact scoring)

BOTTOM LINE: The most significant female character here is the male protagonist’s girlfriend, who “appears” only as a voice on the phone in a faraway city, a nebulous goal that he is deciding whether to pursue or not. Though we don’t know much about the male protagonist, we know even less about her: she is not a person but an object, a life milestone for a man.

NOTE: This is not a “review” of Big Significant Things! It is simply an examination of how well or how poorly it represents women. (A movie that represents women well can still be a terrible film; a movie that represents women poorly can still be a great film.) Read my review of Big Significant Things.